IIHS Tests Small Cars in Crash Tests

If you're averse to car crash test carnage, look away. Interesting findings and information has come out courtesy of International Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). They've detailed a more "real" view on the safety of small cars in comparison to larger ones. Let's see how they fare....

The IIHS took  the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and the Smart cars, all vehicles that achieved the IIHS's rating of "Good" in the traditional 40-mph barrier test. In these tests though, each one drops from "Good" to "Poor.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that a small, lower weight vehicle will be at a disadvantage in an accident with a larger, heavier one. So in that respect I think the IIHS testing is important, because it simply informs people better that there is more to the story then just a car's crash test star (or "Good") rating.

Weight, speed and the different circumstances involved can effect things dramatically. It's not often a car just slams into a cement barrier in the straightforward way the usual IIHS tests are. Smart USA President has challenged these assumptions vigorously, saying if we took it to the highest degree, we'd all be driving 18-wheelers. He also points out that these crash tests represent less then 1% of all real-life crashes. That's true, but I still would have a difficult time feeling safe in a Smart out on the highway.

One of the things that I disagree with strongly though in the IIHS's conclusion is that even if we all drove small cars, fatalities would go up. That simply is a naive assessment; as the "poor" result from these crashes is only a result of the cars they are being hit into. Otherwise they're perfectly modern and well-designed vehicles.

Also, these cars make sense in urban and high-traffic areas, where the small-size enables easier agility and high-speed collisions are less likely. Basically the report is just the IIHS concluding that the chance of surviving in a small car decreases when it collides with a larger car. Is that something we didn't know already though?